Written by Débora Rodrigo de Racancoj
It is easy to find some guidance tables that doctors and other professionals make available to parents and educators that show how many hours of sleep a day are needed for an average child, according to his or her age. Professionals know and insist on the importance of rest for people, especially for children. It is a key piece in their development. It makes them grow healthy and develop properly.
We, as Christians, are also in constant growth and development (Phil. 1: 6). Rest for our spirit is also fundamental for us, just as physical rest is for children.
We know that we find rest in Jesus, and He says it clearly in the scriptures: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Mt 11:28). The Greek word for "rest" used in the original in this verse is ἀναπαύω (anapauo). This word has something interesting in its composition. The first part of the word is the preposition ἀνα- (ana-) which indicates, among other of its meanings, repetition. Rest is a repetitive activity, happening again and again.
Many times, we see rest as a necessity after performing a strenuous or exhausting task, but the truth is that each of us have a scheduled appointment every day, after the sun sets, with our bed, to rest. We do not just rest when we are exhausted. Every day, no matter how tired we are, we sleep a significant number of hours because we know that if we do not, we will not tolerate the demands of the next day. And this is repeated every day, again and again.
In the spiritual realm, scheduling a time of rest with Jesus every day is, for most of us, a pending task. Surely, we think of Him without hesitation when the demands and problems of life leave us without strength. Then we go to Jesus and implore Him for restoration, renewal, and rest. But as soon as we have strength again, we forget that we need to rest periodically to regain strength.
If we want to grow and develop spiritual health, we need to schedule a daily rest time. I have not yet seen any guiding table that tells us how much time we need to spend each day with Jesus for our spiritual rest, but I guess that many of us would be failing to complete the minimum recommended time. Do you think we can grow and develop spiritually without rest? Do you think we will be preparing properly for trials, temptations and so on?
And what about you? Have you rested enough to face today?